This invention relates to a safety device for personnel working on elevated platforms such as those associated with storage tanks or loading stations for railroad tank cars or tank trucks. More particularly, the invention relates to a device which locks onto the platform railing, thereby providing a protective railing for an otherwise unguarded ladder access opening of the platform.
It is standard practice to provide guard-railing around an elevated platform such as for the railroad tank car described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,638 to Allegrette. Such railing, however, does not include the access opening immediately adjoining the ladders attached to the platform. This area is therefore particularly hazardous for personnel working on the platform, since accidental falls can result in serious injuries to such personnel. Attempts to solve this problem have apparently been limited to attaching a chain to the railing on both sides of the ladders, thus "chaining off" the area of the platform immediately above the ladders.